Randolph Residents Upset with Precinct Changes

By JULIEANNE COOPER, Region Editor
With less than a year until the 2008 elections, clerks in counties all across the nation are getting set for another busy event. But since Randolph commissioners conducted their redistricting operations earlier this year — as required by state law — consolidating precincts and changing polling locations, some county residents are angry.

Last Thursday, Helvetia resident Eleanor Mailloux and Czar residents James and Donna Morgan, asked commissioners to change the area’s new polling location, moving it from Pickens back to Helvetia.

“As you all may know, the per capita voting has been consistently higher at Helvetia than at Pickens,” Donna Morgan said. “For example, according to the clerk’s data, Helvetia has 106 residents that are registered to vote. At the last election, 56 voted. Whereas Pickens has 76 voters registered; of that last election, 38 voted.

Helvetia was located in precinct 43 and was one of the many areas that has been grouped with others. The new precinct, No. 220, now includes voters not only in Helvetia, but also Pickens, Czar and Turkey Bone.

Mailloux added that “consistently ... the people of Helvetia go to the polls. As a matter of fact, our precinct has been per capita one of the biggest voters in Randolph County. There was only one precinct in Elkins that has usually out-voted us. I feel that over the many years we have been very loyal. We’ve gone to the polls and I feel that it is not fair to penalize us for being good citizens and doing our duty.”

On Tuesday Randolph County Clerk Brenda Wiseman said Mailloux and the Morgans have not been the only residents to voice complaints about the redistricting and consolidation.

“We’ve had a few calls,” Wiseman said.

In addition to Helvetia, she said calls have also come in from folks in Montrose and Mabie.

Because of the upset and changes, Wiseman said she is stressing early voting to help ease the frustration. Also to ease confusion, Wiseman said the county clerk’s office has been busy mailing to voters cards listing the changes and what polling location they will now be required to use to cast their ballots. That, she said, will “hopefully be finished by January” of 2008.

“Not every person will receive a new card,” Wiseman said, explaining that some will be unaffected by the changes. But with around 16,000 voters in Randolph County, about 13,000 of those will be receiving — if they have not already — a new card.

Commission President Julia Elbon said there are “so many rules and regulations,” that have to be followed, and only around five of the facilities that are used for voting are not in schools.

“We have dropped 10 precincts in this county,” Elbon said. “There’s a lot of consolidation. There are a lot of people who are very upset because they are losing there old voting place.”

The “old voting place” has been changed, commissioners said, due to both the consolidation as well as some facilities no longer unavailable.

Before the redistricting Randolph County had a total of 37 precincts and now that number has been reduced. According to West Virginia State Code, “Each precinct within any urban center shall contain not less than 300 nor more than 1,500 registered voters,” the code states. “Each precinct in a rural or less thickly settled area shall contain not less than 200 nor more than 700 registered voters, unless upon a written finding by the county commission that establishment of or retention of a precinct of less than 200 voters would prevent undue hardship to the voters, the secretary of state determines that such precinct be exempt from the 200 voter minimum limit.

“If, at any time the number of registered voters exceeds the maximum number specified, the county commission shall rearrange the precincts within the political division so that the new precincts each contain a number of registered voters within the designated limits.” the code states. “If a county commission fails to rearrange the precincts as required, any qualified voter of the county may apply for a writ of mandamus to compel the performance of this duty: Provided, that when in the discretion of the county commission, there is only one place convenient to vote within the precinct and when there are more than seven hundred registered voters within the existing precinct, the county commission may designate two or more precincts with the same geographic boundaries and which have voting places located within the same building. The county commission shall designate alphabetically the voters who will be eligible to vote in each precinct so created. Each such precinct shall be operated separately and independently with separate voting booths, ballot boxes, election commissioners and clerks, and whenever possible, in separate rooms. No two of such precincts may use the same counting board.”